MEET THE FILMMAKERS

Photo left: Director Tim Story confers with Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee on the set of FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER, in which Lee makes a cameo appearance. Photo credit: Diyah Pera

IM STORY (Director) has proven himself as an adept storyteller, whose films combine compassion and humor infused with adrenaline. Possessing a unique insight into people and all of their real flaws and quirks, Story uses this, and a passion for telling stories and developing characters, to bring the wide range of human emotion on-screen.

FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER is a follow-up to “Fantastic Four,” in which he brought the beloved Marvel Comics series to life. Having been a fan of “The Fantastic Four” comics his whole life, Story jumped at the chance to helm the film adaptation.

Story is also executive producer of the television series “Standoff.”

Story’s acclaimed feature studio debut, “Barbershop,” was released in September 2002 by MGM. Starring Ice Cube, Anthony Anderson, Cedric the Entertainer, Troy Garity and Eve, the film proved to be a box office hit, spawning a sequel, a spin-off film, and a television series to date.

Prior to “Barbershop,” Story completed two feature length films - “The Firing Squad” and “One of Us Tripped” - which he wrote, directed, produced, edited and even financed himself. “One of Us Tripped” was winner of the Black Filmmaker’s Hall of Fame Film Festival.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tim Story was introduced to filmmaking at a very early age. At age 12, he inherited an 8mm camera from his older brother, and realized his passion lay behind the camera. He was often seen around his neighborhood making silent movies, recruiting family and friends to play the characters in his stories.

In high school, Story’s love of storytelling gained an additional outlet as he began a career in music, rapping with Ice T’s Rhyme Syndicate. Story’s rap group, TDF, was in the process of signing a record deal with Warner Bros. Records, when a neighborhood rival fatally shot one of the members. After the tragedy, Story switched creative gears and began producing and directing talent shows and variety musicals. Story also had aspirations of enrolling in USC’s prestigious film program and honing his skills as a filmmaker, which he made a reality.

After film school, Story worked at an independent record label, where he was able to combine his passion for film and music by directing his first music video. He has since gone on to direct dozens of music videos for such cutting edge acts as N’Sync, Tyrese, and Jon B, among others.

Story and his writing partner Brian Buccellato have completed several dramas that are currently being developed as future projects. He is currently developing “Society Cap” with Tom Hanks’ Universal-based company, Playtone.

DON PAYNE (Screenwriter) is a writer/Co-Executive Producer on the hit animated television series “The Simpsons.” He has won four Emmys for his work on “The Simpsons” and also received the Writers Guild of America’s prestigious Paul Selvin Award for his acclaimed episode "Fraudcast News."

He is a graduate of UCLA’s film school, where he earned a B.A. in film and television and an M.F.A. in screenwriting.

“My Super Ex-Girlfriend,” which he wrote as an original spec screenplay, became his first produced feature. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife Julie and his sons Nathaniel (8) and Joshua (5).

Three-time Emmy nominee MARK FROST (Screenplay, Story) is an acclaimed film and television writer perhaps best known for the groundbreaking television series “Twin Peaks” and the 1992 film “Storyville,” which he wrote and directed. His Emmy nominations came in 1984 for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series for an episode of “Hill Street Blues” and in 1990 when he was nominated for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series and Outstanding Drama Series for “Twin Peaks.”

In addition to “Hill Street Blues” and “Twin Peaks,” his many other television credits as a writer include “The Deadly Look of Love,” which he also co-executive produced; the series “Buddy Faro,” as writer and executive producer; and the series “On the Air” and “The Six Million Dollar Man.”

Frost has also directed episodes of “On the Air,” “Twin Peaks” and “Hill Street Blues.”

JOHN TURMAN (Story) co-wrote the screenplay for the 2003 film “The Hulk,” directed by Ang Lee. He was a producer on the comedy/drama “Full Moon in Blue Water” and an associate producer on “Gleaming the Cube.”

BERND EICHINGER’s (Producer) credits include “Resident Evil: Apocalypse,” “Resident Evil,” “Wrongfully Accused,” “Smilla’s Sense of Snow,” “The House of the Spirits,” “Last Exit to Brooklyn,” “The Name of the Rose,” “The Neverending Story” “DOA: Dead on Arrival,” and “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer.”

He recently produced “The Downfall” (Der Untergang), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Upcoming is “Resident Evil: Extinction.”

Eichinger was born in Neuburg, Bavaria. He attended boarding school and originally pursued his musical aspirations until he was accepted into the Munich Academy for Television and Film. He began screenwriting and worked as a production manager at BR, the Bavarian public service television and radio station. In 1974 he founded Solaris, his own production company, and became one of the most influential and successful producers of the New German Film movement. When a fellow production company, Constantin, ran into financial difficulties, Eichinger designed a rescue plan and ultimately became a shareholder and CEO of the company, and didn’t leave his position as Chairman of the Board of Management of Constantin Film AG until just a few years ago.

AVI ARAD (Producer) was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Marvel Studios, the film and television division of Marvel Entertainment, and Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment. Mr. Arad has been the driving force behind Marvel's Hollywood renaissance with a track record that has been nothing short of spectacular, including a string of eight consecutive No. 1 box office openings.

As an executive producer and producer, his credits include “Spider-Man” and its sequel, “Spider-Man 2” (Columbia Pictures), which set an industry record for opening day box office receipts; “X-Men,” “X2,” and “X-Men: The Last Stand” (Twentieth Century Fox); “The Hulk” (Universal Pictures); “Daredevil” (New Regency); “The Punisher” (Lions Gate Entertainment); “Blade,” “Blade II” and “Blade: Trinity” (New Line Cinema); “Elektra” (Twentieth Century Fox); and “Fantastic Four” (Twentieth Century Fox).

Arad's recent live-action feature film slate includes the box-office smash “Ghost Rider” (Columbia Pictures), the much-anticipated “Spider-Man 3” (Columbia Pictures), “Iron Man” (Paramount), which is now before the cameras, starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow, and “The Incredible Hulk” (Universal), which begins production later this year.

Complementing the current studio relationships, Arad is also overseeing MVL Film Finance LLC, Marvel’s independently financed film slate arranged with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith. Through the film fund, Arad will be developing and producing films in-house based on ten renowned Marvel characters such as Captain America, Nick Fury, Ant-Man and Dr. Strange.

Complementing Marvel's feature film line-up, Arad is also overseeing Marvel's aggressive animation plans. Marvel Studios is currently in development with leading animation studio Antefilms on a “Fantastic Four” television series expected to launch in 2006. Additionally, Marvel has teamed with Lions Gate to develop a high-quality line-up of animated productions specifically for the DVD market. The first title, based on “The Avengers,” was released in February 2006.

Born in Cyprus and raised in Israel, Arad came to the United States during his college years and enrolled at Hofstra University to study industrial management. He earned a bachelor of business administration from the University in 1972.

A long-established expert in youth entertainment, Arad is one of the world’s top toy designers. He has been involved in the creation and development of over two hundred successful products, including action figures, play sets, dolls, toy vehicles, electronic products, educational software and video games. In fact, virtually every major toy and youth entertainment manufacturer, including Toy Biz, Hasbro, Mattel, Nintendo, Tiger, Ideal, Galoob, Tyco and Sega, has been selling his products for more than 20 years.

When not working as a producer, Arad can be found riding his Harley-Davidson. His enthusiasm for the motorcycle inspired him to become a successful restaurateur. He founded and still owns the Harley-Davidson Cafe in Las Vegas.

RALPH WINTER (Producer) is a native Californian, born and raised in Glendale. He attended U. C. Berkeley where he received a B.A. in History. His first experience in production was producing training videos for Broadway Department Stores.

In 1978, Winter started working in the film business for Paramount Pictures in post-production television, where he worked on “Happy Days,” “Laverne & Shirley,” and “Mork & Mindy.” Following his experiences in television, Winter began working alongside Harve Bennett on the “Star Trek” films. He was an associate producer on “Star Trek III,” executive producer on IV, and producer on V & VI.

In 1991, he moved over to the Walt Disney Company where he executive produced “Captain Ron” starring Kurt Russell and Martin Short, “Hocus Pocus” starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Bette Midler, and “The Puppet Masters.”

In 1995, Winter moved into the independent arena, producing the film “Hackers” starring Angelina Jolie, and directed by the critically acclaimed Iain Softley (“K-Pax,” “The Skeleton Key”) for United Artists.

In 1996, he was hired by Steven Spielberg to produce the ABC show “High Incident” starring David Keith and Blair Underwood.

In 1997, Winter returned to Disney to produce the remake of the 1949 RKO classic, “Mighty Joe Young” with producer Tom Jacobson and director Ron Underwood (“City Slickers”). The following year he executive produced “Inspector Gadget” starring Matthew Broderick and Rupert Everett.

After a successful run at Disney, Winter collaborated with Twentieth Century Fox in 1999 producing Marvel’s “X-Men” directed by Bryan Singer, which grossed $296 million worldwide. Upon the achievement of the film, Fox offered Ralph an exclusive deal with the studio where he went on to produce “Planet of the Apes” (2001) directed by Tim Burton, which made $362 million worldwide. He then teamed up with Singer again for the highly anticipated sequel “X2,” grossing $406 million.

In 2005, Winter produced the first “Fantastic Four,” directed by Tim Story, which produced a gross of $329 million. Most recently he produced “X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006), the third installment in the “X-Men” series, directed by Brett Ratner, which has become one of the most successful films of the summer.

STAN LEE (Executive Producer), the chairman emeritus of Marvel Comics, is known to millions as the man whose Super Heroes propelled Marvel to its preeminent position in the comic-book industry. Hundreds of legendary characters, including Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, The X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Daredevil, The Avengers, The Silver Surfer, Thor and Dr. Strange, all grew out of his fertile imagination.

Lee executive produced the global hit “Ghost Rider,” which has, to date, taken in over $200 million worldwide. Lee also executive produced “X-Men: The Last Stand,” after executive producing the first two smash “X-Men” films. He also served as executive producer of “Fantastic Four,” “Hulk,” “Elektra,” “Daredevil,” and the “Blade” trilogy.

It was in the early 1960s that Lee ushered in what has come to be known as “The Marvel Age of Comics,” creating major new Super Heroes while breathing life and style into such old favorites as Captain America, The Human Torch and The Sub Mariner.

During his first 25 years at Marvel, as editor, art director and head writer, Lee scripted no fewer than two and as many as five complete comic books per week. His prodigious output may comprise the largest body of published work by any single writer. Additionally, he wrote newspaper features, radio and television scripts and screenplays.

By the time he was named publisher of Marvel Comics in 1972, Lee’s comics were the nation’s biggest sellers. In 1977, he brought the Spider-Man character to newspapers in the form of a syndicated strip. This seven-days-a-week feature, which he has written and edited since its inception, is the most successful of all syndicated adventure strips, appearing in more than 500 newspapers worldwide.

In 1981, Marvel launched an animation studio on the West Coast and Lee moved to Los Angeles to become creative head of Marvel’s cinematic adventures. He began to transform his Spider-Man and Hulk creations into Saturday morning television and paved the way for Marvel’s entry into live-action feature films.

Under the umbrella of his new company POW! (Purveyors of Wonder!) Entertainment, Inc., Lee is creating and executive producing an animated “Stan Lee Presents” DVD series, with the first three slated for release this year: “Mosaic” (January ‘07), “The Condor” (March ’07) and “Ringo” (with Ringo Starr). Lee’s television credits with POW! include serving as executive producer and star on NBC SCI FI’s hit reality series “Who Wants To Be a Superhero?,” and as co-producer and creator of “Stripperella” on the Spike cable channel, in addition to previously executive producing “Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Spider-Man” and “X-Men.”

Lee has written more than a dozen best-selling books, including Stan Lee’s Superhero Christmas, The Origins of Marvel Comics, The Best of the Worst, The Silver Surfer, How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way, The Alien Factor, Bring on the Bad Guys, Riftworld, The Superhero Women and his recent autobiography Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee.

KEVIN FEIGE (Executive Producer), as President of Production at Marvel Studios, has creative oversight over the company’s film projects, as well as its animation work for television and DVD, and its theme park activities.

Feige joined Marvel in 2000 and has been involved in key capacities in all of Marvel's theatrical productions, including the “X-Men” trilogy, “Spider-Man,” “Spider-Man 2,” and “Fantastic Four.” He is currently producing “Iron Man,” which is now before the cameras starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow, and “The Incredible Hulk,” which begins production later this year.

Feige was executive producer on “The Hulk,” “Elektra” and “The Punisher,” and he co-produced the 2003 hit “Daredevil.”

After graduating from the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television, Feige worked for Lauren Shuler Donner and Richard Donner at their Warner Bros.-based The Donners' Company. While there, he worked on the action-adventure “Volcano” and the hit romantic comedy “You've Got Mail.” He then transitioned into a development position that lead to an associate producer role on “X-Men,” the film that revamped the comic book genre.

CHRIS COLUMBUS (Executive Producer) is a major force in contemporary Hollywood filmmaking, from his anarchic, genre-bending 1980s classics “Gremlins” and “The Goonies” to the blockbuster “Harry Potter” films  which are among the most successful book-to-screen adaptations of all time.

Columbus was born in Spangler, Pennsylvania and grew up outside of Youngstown, Ohio. As a youngster, he aspired to draw cartoons for Marvel Comics and eventually made the connection between comic books and movie storyboards. In high school, he began making his own homegrown 8mm films and drawing his own storyboards (which he continues to this day). After high school, he enrolled in the Directors Program at New York University’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts.

Columbus first attained success as a screenwriter. While still in college, he sold his first script “Jocks,” a semi-autobiographical comedy about a Catholic schoolboy who tries out for a football team. After graduating from NYU, Columbus wrote a small town drama entitled “Reckless” (1984), based on his experiences as a factory worker in Ohio. The film was directed by James Foley and starred Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah.

Columbus gained prominence in Hollywood writing several original scripts produced by Steven Spielberg. The back-to-back hits of the Joe Dante-directed “Gremlins” (1984) and “The Goonies” (1985), helmed by Richard Donner, were decade-defining films that intertwined high notes of offbeat, edgy, often outrageous humor against more classic adventure-thriller backdrops. He next wrote the fantasy adventure “Young Sherlock Holmes,” which was directed by Barry Levinson.

These screenwriting achievements led Columbus to directing his first feature, “Adventures in Babysitting” (1987) starring Elisabeth Shue. A meeting with John Hughes brought Columbus to the helm of “Home Alone” (1990), the first of three collaborations. “Home Alone” and its hugely successful follow-up, “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” were universal in appeal and launched the career of Macaulay Culkin. “Only the Lonely” (1991), a bittersweet comedy-drama directed by Columbus from his own screenplay, was praised for featuring one of the late John Candy’s best performances, and for the return of legendary star Maureen O’Hara to the screen.

Columbus faced a daunting task when he was called upon to direct “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (2001), the first film based on J.K. Rowling’s monumentally successful series of books. With millions of avid and sometimes fanatical readers  both young and old  in a high state of expectation and anticipation, Columbus cast completely inexperienced youngsters Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint in the leading roles as Harry Potter and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Once again, he demonstrated his facility for nurturing and cultivating young talent and turning them into natural screen performers.

The success of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” was followed by “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” (2002), which once again met with huge box office success. He served as producer on the recent Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and directed last year’s film version of the Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway musical “RENT.”

In 2006, Columbus was a producer on the blockbuster comedy hit “Night at the Museum,” which has grossed over $550 million in worldwide box office. Starring Ben Stiller, the film was directed by Shawn Levy and written by Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon.

MICHAEL BARNATHAN (Producer) is President of 1492 Pictures, in which he is a producing partner with Chris Columbus and Mark Radcliffe. The company was formed in May 1994 and has a first look deal with Warner Bros. Barnathan has served as producer on “Nine Months,” “Jingle All the Way,” “Stepmom,” “Cheaper by the Dozen,” “Christmas with the Kranks,” “Fantastic Four,” “RENT” and the recent blockbuster “Night at the Museum.” He also served as executive producer for “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” and “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.”

Prior to joining 1492 Pictures, Barnathan was Senior Vice President of Production at Largo Entertainment for four years. His responsibilities included supervision of both development and production of Largo’s films. Barnathan served as executive producer on “Used People” and supervised such productions as “Point Break,” “Dr. Giggles,” “Judgment Night” and “The Getaway.”

Before joining Largo, Barnathan spent seven years working for Edgar J. Scherick Associates. For his last two years with Scherick he served as Executive Vice President of Production. During his tenure, he produced and executive produced numerous cable movies, movies of the week and mini-series, including “The Kennedys of Massachusetts,” which received nine Emmy nominations.

MARK RADCLIFFE (Producer), who served as producer on “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and executive producer on “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” continued his long-term collaboration with Chris Columbus as producer on “RENT.” Last year he was an executive producer on “Night at the Museum.”

He previously served as producer on the box office hits “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Stepmom,” “Fantastic Four,” “Nine Months,” “Christmas with the Kranks” and “Jingle All the Way,” having also been executive producer on “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” co-producer of “Only the Lonely” and associate producer and assistant director on “Home Alone.” He and Columbus first worked together on “Heartbreak Hotel.”

A native of Oklahoma, Radcliffe began his film career as assistant director on the Francis Ford Coppola production “The Escape Artist.” He later worked for Coppola on “Rumblefish” and “Peggy Sue Got Married.” Other credits include assistant director on John Hughes’ “She’s Having a Baby” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” Jerry Zucker’s “Ghost,” Donald Petrie’s “Mystic Pizza” and Paul Schrader’s “Light of Day.”

LARRY BLANFORD (Director of Photography) previously collaborated with director Tim Story as the second unit director of photography on both “Fantastic Four” and “Taxi.”

Prior to his career in film, Blanford served nine years in the U.S. Air Force as a combat cameraman where he logged over 400 hours on fighter jets such as the F-4, F-5, F-15 and F-16. With his fighter jet experience, in 1985 while still in the Air Force as a Tech Sergeant, Blanford was given the opportunity to be an aerial camera operator for director Tony Scott’s “Top Gun.” Nine months later, Blanford moved to Los Angeles to begin a career as an aerial camera operator then subsequently moving on to second unit director of photography. Blanford’s credits during that time include action films such as “Broken Arrow,” “The Rock,” “Armageddon,” “Minority Report,” “xXx,” “Tears of the Sun” and “Paycheck.”

Most recently, as second unit director of photography, Blanford lent his talents to films such as “Yours, Mine and Ours,” “Night at the Museum,” “Smokin’ Aces,” and “The Kingdom.”

FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER marks Blanford’s first major studio feature as director of photography.

KIRK M. PETRUCCELLI (Production Designer) recently designed the hit action-thriller “Ghost Rider,” starring Nicolas Cage, based on the popular Marvel Comics character. Petruccelli’s credits include both “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” and its sequel, “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life,” as well as “The Last Castle,” Roland Emmerich’s “The Patriot,” “Mystery Men,” "The Thirteenth Floor," "Blade," "Anaconda," "Murder in the First," "Where the Day Takes You" and “3 Ninjas." He served as art director on "Poetic Justice" and "Philadelphia Experiment II" and was assistant art director on "Son in Law."

Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Petruccelli attended Penn State University where he studied film, graphic design and illustration, ultimately receiving a degree in film. He also studied the art of Steadicam operation at the Rockport Film and Television Workshop. He has worked in a variety of production jobs, including camera, set design and decoration.

PETER S. ELLIOT (Editor) was editor on “Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties.” Previously, he was visual effects editor on numerous motion pictures, including “Fantastic Four,” “The Day After Tomorrow” (also additional editor), “Daredevil,” “Blade II,” “Dr. Dolittle 2,” “Godzilla” and “Independence Day.” He has worked in other editing capacities on “Judge Dredd,” “Stargate” and “Hellbound.”

ROSS FANGER (Co-Producer) attended UCLA, receiving a B.A. in English Literature. He began his career as an assistant at Paramount Television, later becoming location manager on the features “Barfly,” “Miracle Mile,” “Loverboy” and “The Boost.”

In 1988, he was hired by The Walt Disney Studios as a production executive. Over the next five years, Fanger oversaw production on some 20 features, including, “Gross Anatomy,” “Billy Bathgate,” “The Program,” “Cool Runnings,” “The Mighty Ducks” and “The Mighty Ducks 2.”

In 1995 Fanger returned to freelance production, working as production manager on the Adam Sandler picture, “Billy Madison,” and on “Tom and Huck.” Later, Fanger co-produced “That Darn Cat” and was production manager on “Desperate Measures,” “Holy Man,” and “10 Things I Hate About You.”

In 1999, Fanger was hired by 20th Century Fox and Ralph Winter, as production manager on “X-Men.” In 2001, Fanger re-teamed with Winter, as associate producer on Tim Burton’s “Planet of the Apes” for Fox. Fanger was co-producer on “X2,” “Fantastic Four,” and “X-Men: The Last Stand,” all for Fox.

In addition to being one of the industry’s most respected and sought-after film editors, JOHN OTTMAN’s (Composer) credits as a composer include “Fantastic Four,” “Superman Returns,” “Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang,” “House of Wax,” “Hide and Seek” and the upcoming “The Invasion.” Other credits for his original music include “Cellular,” “Gothika,” “Trapped,” HBO’s “Point of Origin,” “Eight Legged Freaks,” “Pumpkin,” “Bubble Boy,” “Lake Placid,” “Incognito,” “The Cable Guy” and “Night Train.”

He has a longtime collaboration with director Bryan Singer, having first worked together on their co-directorial debut “Lion’s Den,” which Ottman edited as well. Ottman went on to serve as both film editor and composer for Singer’s “The Usual Suspects,” “Apt Pupil,” “X2” and “Superman Returns.”

Ottman also directed, edited and scored the feature film “Urban Legends: Final Cut.” His awards include a BAFTA Award for Best Editing for “The Usual Suspects,” a Saturn Award for Best Music for “The Usual Suspects” and a BMI Film Music Award for “X2.” Ottman received an American Cinema Editors Eddie Award nomination for “The Usual Suspects,” an Emmy Award nomination for the score of the pilot episode of the 1998-99 TV series “Fantasy Island” and a Saturn Award Best Music nomination for “X2.”

MARY VOGT (Costume Designer) recently designed costumes for the 2006 family comedy hit “RV,” marking her fourth film collaboration with director Barry Sonnenfeld, having previously designed the costumes for “Men in Black,” “Men in Black II” and “Big Trouble.” She also designed the costumes for Sonnenfeld’s TV pilot “Maximum Bob.”

Vogt’s other recent credits include “Son of the Mask,” “Looney Tunes: Back in Action,” “Unconditional Love” and “Inspector Gadget.” Vogt designed costumes for five films directed by John Badham: “”Drop Zone,” “Nick of Time,” “Stakeout,” “Short Circuit” and “The Hard Way.” She also designed the costumes for “Hocus Pocus,” “Only the Lonely,” “The Naked Gun,” “The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult,” and co-designed the clothes for “Batman Returns” with costume designer Bob Ringwood.

2007 Film Entertainment Magazine / EMOL.org. All rights reserved.

The Silver Surfer is an enigmatic, intergalactic herald who comes to Earth to prepare it for destruction, in FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER. Photo credit: Weta

Fantastic Four - The Complete Animated Series (1994)

Starring: Quinton Flynn, Stan Lee
Director: Tom Tataranowicz

the longest-running Marvel series in history arrives for the first time on DVD in this spectacular four-disc set, featuring all 26 episodes of the heralded 1990's animated series. Learn the origin of the Fantastic Four, and be there as Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and The Thing save the world from the dastardly Doctor Doom and his legion of villains. Now you can relive every action-packed episode, complete with exclusive introductions by Stan Lee. It's a fantastic DVD collection you'll want to experience over and over again.

The entire adventures of Marvel Comic's greatest superhero team. When Reed Richards, Sue and Johnny Storm and pilot Ben Grimm take a premature space flight on a new shuttle, they find themselves massively bombarded with cosmic radiation. Barely managing to re-enter and land safely, the quartet find themselves forever transformed with superpowers. Deciding to use these new powers to help people, they form the Fantastic Four, a superhero team dedicated to the protection of Earth from menaces like the Latverian King Dr. Doom and Galactus, the planet consumer.

Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four animated series (1994-95)-- depicting the first family of superheroes--got significantly better as it went along.

The series always had good intentions, borrowing plots, concepts, characters, and even lines of dialogue from the classic Stan Lee-Jack Kirby comic books that kicked off the Marvel age of comics. And it was willing to spend two or even three episodes on a single story line. The early episodes, however, had serious drawbacks, such as a clumsy animation style (the Silver Surfer never looked less noble), weak humor (the origin episode created a framing sequence in which the FF appears on the Dick Cavett Show), and an awful theme song by Giorgio Moroder (Flashdance, Top Gun).

Fortunately, the animation improved in the second season, and instrumental theme music replaced the song. Memorable moments from the series include the monumental Frightful Four-Inhumans tie-in and Galactus's search for a new herald. Memorable characters include villains Doctor Doom, the Skrulls, the Mole Man, and the Puppet Master, and heroes Daredevil, the Black Panther, Thor, and the Hulk. Guest voices include Ron Perlman, Michael Dorn, Kathy Ireland, Mark Hamill, and John Rhys-Davies. It's worth a look for FF fans, especially in the complete four-disc set that contains all 29 episodes, a welcome change from Disney's single-disc compilations of the Spider-Man series from the same time period. (Ages 8 and older: cartoon action, threatening situations, some mature concepts) -Find out more about the Fantastic Four - The Complete Animated Series